As expected the Orioles have placed third baseman Manny Machado on the disabled list after he suffered a sprained right knee ligament Monday night.

This time around it’s his right knee, whereas Machado suffered a torn ligament in his left knee last season, but the injury certainly didn’t look pretty at the time.

In his absence–today at least–the Orioles have shifted first baseman Chris Davis across the diamond to third base, where he’s started 68 career games.

After a terrible start to the season and a suspension for tossing his bat Machado has hit .351 in 28 games since July 1, raising his OPS from .662 to .755 during that time. He posted a .746 OPS as a rookie last season.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports Thursday that the Orioles “are said to have begun fielding calls of interest” on superstar Manny Machado and “are close to the point of seriously weighing whether to trade him.”

You’d think it would be a no-brainer for the last-place O’s to flip Machado — an impending free agent — for prospects, but Heyman notes there is “still a question whether or not longtime Orioles owner Peter Angelos” will give the go-ahead. One person familiar with the situation put it a “50-50” likelihood. Another suggested that it would take a massive return, which, sure.

Machado entered play Thursday with a sensational .328/.405/.635 batting line, 15 home runs, and an MLB-leading 43 RBI in 49 games. It’d be a real shock if he’s still wearing an O’s uniform by the end of July.

Heyman reported previously that at least nine teams made aggressive plays for Machado this winter, including the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals. A whole lot of those teams still make sense here in late May — maybe all of them except the White Sox.